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Path through a bamboo thicket. (Photo by R. Butler)
Role of Developing Nations in Rainforest Conservation
Increasingly, developing nations are adopting environmental plans both to look good in the eyes of international
financing organizations, and in finally realizing the adverse affects of deforestation for their own economies
and peoples. In 1996, Mexico announced its first national environmental program aimed at saving the last remaining
10 percent of its forests. Other countries have initiated such projects, but still a fair number are quite ecologically
backwards. Malaysia, which claims to have the best conservation program in Southeast Asia, recently appealed a
high-court decision that tried to hold up construction of a huge hydroelectric project in Bakuin, Sarawak (Bornean
Malaysia). The court decided that the dam construction company, Ekran, must comply with regulations established
by Malaysia's Environmental Quality Act of 1974—which holds that Malaysian citizens have the right to examine
and comment upon environmental studies before construction. The Malaysian government appealed this decision to
Malaysia's Court of Appeals so the hydroelectric project could proceed as quickly as possible.
A lack of judicial independence is frequently cited as a major concern for investors in developing countries. When
the executive branch or the military has virtual control over the judicial system, constitutional laws can become
meaningless and basic rights may be ignored. Laws are not meant to be flagrantly violated by politicians and
their associates at the expense of the people, the environment, and less well-connected business interests.
Developing governments have several ways they can better protect their forest environments for the future. Eliminating
subsidies for activities that promote forest clearing and largely benefit wealthy private interests would probably
have the widest-ranging effect on curbing deforestation in the tropics. For example, ending subsidies for sawmills,
road construction, massive colonization schemes, and expansive agricultural projects would dramatically slow deforestation.
Such large subsidies create a false image of profitability to industries that benefit from exploitation and undervalue
the worth of timber supplies and intact ecosystems. Rarely do these firms realize the full costs, whether they
be environmental, social, or financial. Leaders of these firms are a formidable roadblock to forest policy reform,
since they are generally politically favored. Developing governments could significantly reduce deforestation by changing
land-title procedures so deforestation is not favored over the maintenance of productive forest. Instead of giving
tax breaks and subsidies to large-scale forest clearers, governments could levy a deforestation tax that would
increase government revenues while reducing environmental degradation. Such a plan of action would have a tremendous
impact in countries like Brazil and Malaysia where large plantation owners and cattle ranchers are responsible
for substantial forest loss.
Corruption
Corruption and illegal operations are quite costly for governments. The World Bank estimates that illegal logging alone costs developing countries some $15 billion a year in lost tax revenues.
Rooting out corruption and implementing the rule of law are key to conservation efforts as well as the general business environment in developing countries. Corrupt officials in forestry departments and other branches of law enforcement can easily undermine conservation efforts by granting parkland to unscrupulous developers and overlooking violations of environmental laws and safeguards.
Transparency in economic transactions and processes is key to reducing corruption in developing economies. Small steps such as publishing bids for contracts, clarifying ownership and the transfer of ownership, posting laws to allow citizens to better understand the economic and legal processes, and creating a forum for airing complaints can do a lot for building a fairer and less corrupt society.
Nine out of the world's ten most corrupt countries in 2005 were tropical developing countries. The list from Transparency International: (most corrupt) Bangladesh, Chad, Haiti, Myanmar, Turkmenistan, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Angola, and Democratic Republic of the Congo (tenth most corrupt).
Currently, few fines are collected and those that are collected get "lost" before the forest ministry
ever sees them. Salaries are so low in some countries that bribes are widely accepted by forestry officials. Governments can also increase the effectiveness of forestry patrols by offering performance incentives to officials and returning proceeds from fines and seized goods to the forestry departments.
There are serious conflicts of interest within government departments in many developing countries. Environmental
officials often lack coordination with officials from other departments like mines, forestry, and agriculture,
which hand out permits for forest clearing and logging without consideration for the ecological effects. What is
needed is an integrated policy approach to overcome the inefficiencies and failures of overlapping jurisdictions.
Frequently, a well-placed bribe can get a plantation owner or timber baron a large tract of supposedly protected
forest. Other developers take a different approach: acquiring political ties. The economic circle of the elite in Indonesia
was notorious for its ties to former president Suharto, who allowed reforestation funds to be allocated for all
types of projects completely unrelated to forest preservation and reforestation.
Developed countries are tired of the rhetoric from wealthy developed
countries urging them to preserve forests but not coughing up the cash to turn words into action. They argue that
if these forests provide important global benefits then the entire world should contribute to their preservation.
Besides, they say, wealthy countries have already destroyed most of their own forests.
Investing to save rainforests
(4/2/2008) Last week London-based Canopy Capital, a private equity firm, announced a historic deal to preserve the rainforest of Iwokrama, a 371,000-hectare reserve in the South American country of Guyana. In exchange for funding a "significant" part of Iwokrama's $1.2 million research and conservation program on an ongoing basis, Canopy Capital secured the right to develop value for environmental services provided by the reserve. Essentially the financial firm has bet that the services generated by a living rainforest — including rainfall generation, climate regulation, biodiversity maintenance and carbon storage — will eventually be valuable in international markets. Hylton Murray-Philipson, director of Canopy Capital, says the agreement — which returns 80 percent of the proceeds to the people of Guyana — could set the stage for an era where forest conservation is driven by the pursuit of profit rather than overt altruistic concerns.
Private equity firm buys rights to ecosystem services of Guyana rainforest
(3/27/2008) A private equity firm has purchased the rights to environmental services generated by 371,000 hectare rainforest reserve in Guyana. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the agreement is precedent-setting in that a financial firm is betting that the services generated by a living rainforest — including rainfall generation, climate regulation, biodiversity maintenance and water storage — will eventually see compensation in international markets.
Norway puts $560m toward rainforest conservation
(12/9/2007) Norway will commit NOK 3 billion ($560m) to rainforest conservation efforts in an effort to slow climate change, reports Aftenposten, a Norwegian newspaper.
REDD will fail if needs of forest communities aren't addressed
(12/7/2007) Initiatives to reduce emissions by reducing tropical deforestation (REDD) will fail unless policymakers adequately address the underlying drivers of forest degradation and destruction, argues a new report published by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).
